


Dreamland

by sagscrib



Series: dreamland [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode
Genre: Found Families, Love Confessions, M/M, Unrequited Love, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23974027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagscrib/pseuds/sagscrib
Summary: The DR:AE captives get to see their loved ones one last time.
Relationships: Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Oowada Mondo/Yukimaru Takemichi (one-sided)
Series: dreamland [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926724
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	Dreamland

The air in the room was tense and cold, cutting into Takemichi even through his jacket like a knife. Of course, the jacket had seen better days.

Fujiko squeezed his hand a little tighter. He was beginning to lose feeling in his fingers, but he sure as hell wasn’t gonna do anything about it. She was nervous.

They all were, he supposed, scanning the room. Ayaka was tapping her foot nervously and Kanon was pacing a small strip of the tiny room. The only one who looked calm was Takaaki, but Takemichi knew better- he had been pressing his mouth to the back of his hand on and off for the past 20 or so minutes. It was one of his clearer tells. Takemichi bumped their elbows together gently- an invitation for physical comfort, if he wanted it.

Takaaki jumped slightly, then blinked down at the shorter man, who smiled sideways back up at him. He shuffled closer, not moving his hand from his mouth, and leaned against him slightly. Takemichi thought for a moment to extend the invitation to the two women not too far from them, but neither seemed especially keen on joining their strange wall of half-cuddles.

For a while, the only sound was Taichi tapping away on the keyboard and the click of Kanon’s shoes on the linoleum. When Taichi finally cleared his throat to speak, Takemichi held his breath. He had the feeling everyone else did, too.

“Alright, we’re almost ready to go. I just need to brief you guys,” he said. His voice was gentle- probably soothing, even, in another context. Now, though, Takemichi doubted there was anything that could calm him down. “You guys have to remember that this isn’t going to be your real loved ones- just some very realistic simulations. Alter Ego will let us know if anything goes wrong, but other than that, you’ll have your privacy.”

He walked to the door at the far side of the room and placed his hand on the handle, then turned to address the five of them again. “Last chance to back out.”

No one moved- not that Takemichi had expected them to. They had all been told about the dangers weeks ago, and the only one to back out was Kenshiro. He said he was worried how his body would react in virtual reality, which Takemichi suspected was about half-true, but he certainly wasn’t going to press him on it. Kenshiro could open up when he was ready. The two of them had discussed Sakura before, though only in short bursts, and he always got a sad, far-off look that made Takemichi feel guilty.

The room Taichi led them into was larger than the one they had been waiting in, with a small circle of comfortable-looking beds and screens with wires running to a number of whirring and beeping machines. Fujiko had taken his hand in both of hers now, and he reached over to ruffle her hair in a gesture he hoped was comforting.

“You’re gonna be just fine,” he whispered. “Promise.”

She smiled up at him nervously.

Taichi walked to tap away at another keyboard. “Lay down whenever you’re ready,” he said, and Fujiko let go of his hand to sit on one of the beds. Takemichi ended up between Ayaka and Takaaki, sitting on the edge of the plush mattress while Ayaka continued fidgeting and Takaaki ran a hand over his face. Though there were at least 20 beds in all, they all ended up clumped together at the 5 closest to the entrance.

He turned to Takaaki. “Nervous?” He teased gently. Takaaki gave him a tired smile.

“Yes,” he answered quietly, surprising Takemichi. “Of course I am. I’ve only seen my son in photos for the past seven years, and now…” He sighed. Takaaki never made eye contact, and Takemichi didn’t expect him to, but he looked at his forehead with a certain level of earnest that he couldn’t help but appreciate. “Are you?”

Takemichi nodded. “Yeah.” He had spent the last few years poring over whatever photograph, video, journal,  _ anything Mondo _ he could find, so it certainly wasn’t as though he had stopped thinking about him, but… This was different. This was going to talk back. It was going to  _ listen _ . It wasn’t whispered confessions to a polaroid in flickering lamplight at 3 in the morning- this was a  _ conversation. _

“I think I’m scared,” he said, voice barely a whisper. Takaaki nodded.

He closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath, then turned to Ayaka. “How ‘bout you?”

“Nope,” she grinned, and they both knew she was lying. “I can’t wait to give her a piece of my mind. Teach her to throw away a group like ours.”

Takemichi rolled his eyes, not entirely unfondly.

“Are we ready?” Taichi asked, and the group murmured their agreement and laid down.

Takemichi batted at Takaaki’s wrist once, affectionately, then folded his hands over his ribs. “Good luck in there.”

Takaaki nodded. “You as well.”

* * *

Things were dark for just a moment, and Takemichi felt as though he was floating in space. The only sound was his heart thudding in his chest. Quickly, though, his feet met the floor, and there was a metal door in front of him with a plaque bearing a familiar name.

He laid his hand on the knob, feeling his skin warm the cool steel. He was sweating, he realized, and wiped his palm on his pants, then reached for the handle again before seeing that sweat had collected there, as well, and he should probably wipe that off, too, out of courtesy (since when did he wipe doorknobs out of courtesy?) and he

Was stalling. What was he waiting for? It was  _ Mondo. _ He’d known the guy since they were… 13? 14? Before he met the Oowadas, he’d never kept track of his birthday, so he wasn’t sure exactly how old he was.

_ (“Hey, happy birthday, kid!” _

_ “I- wha? Who’s bike is this?” _

_ “She’s all yours, pipsqueak!” _

_ “Ha-ha. Very funny, boss. Seriously, guys, who’s bike?” _

_ “Toldja, it’s yours. And cut the boss crap, a’ight? It’s Daiya.” _

_ “Now that you got a bike of yer own, we gotta race!” _

_ “Ey, let the kid finish his cake first, Mondo, the hog’ll be there tomorrow.”) _

Takemichi wiped at his eyes. He hadn’t even  _ seen _ him yet, and he was already crying. Steeling himself, he slowly opened the door.

Sunlight was filtering in through the window, warming the room. There were some clothes strewn about the floor and a pair of slippers that he side-stepped as he closed the door behind him. Looking around, he saw the Diamonds flag tacked onto the wall and smiled fondly. It was hanging over a messy desk- it looked like Mondo was putting some real effort into his work lately.

And there he was, lounging on an unmade bed, hair unstyled like it always was in the early morning, tossing a fist-sized rubber ball into the air and catching it. When he saw Takemichi, he smiled broadly and tossed the ball aside, not even giving him a chance to finish his awkward wave before scooping him into a bear hug.

“Michi!” He laughed, and Takemichi just about broke down, then and there. His skin was as warm and rough as he remembered, arms strong, hugging him like he hadn’t been hugged in years. God, they even got his  _ smell _ right.

Mondo set him down too soon- though, really,  _ ever _ would be too soon- and laid his hands on his shoulders, smiling. “You made it.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Yeah. I had to see you again. It’s been hell without you, man. I’ve met others, but it ain’t the same. Ain’t even close.”

His smile wavered. “Y’know I can’t…”

“I know,” he sighed, closing his eyes, concentrating on the light pressure on his shoulders. “Lemme be in the moment for a little bit, ya fuckin’ buzzkill.”

“Who ya callin’ buzzkill?” He chuckled, smacking Takemichi lightly over the head.

Takemichi laughed. “Hey, we can fight when I get to the afterlife, a’ight? Let’s jus’... Talk, for now.”

Mondo nodded, ruffling Takemichi’s hair. “Whatever you want, lil buddy.”

Takemichi was sitting with his back to the wall, facing Mondo. Their legs were outstretched, left knees side by side. Mondo nudged Takemichi’s hip with his foot.

“Takaaki Ishimaru? Like, the cop? Pretty sure he hauled Daiya away a couple’a times,” Mondo said, incredulous.

“Yeah, the very same. He ain’t terrible if you get to know ‘im.” He rolled his eyes. “If he  _ lets _ you get to know ‘im, but good luck there.” He paused to sigh for a moment. “I probably ain’t gonna tell ‘im, because it seems like a sore point, but he’s like a dad to me. Or maybe an uncle. I dunno. Maybe there ain’t a word for it, but I care about the old fuck.”

Mondo smiled, patting his shin. “Glad you’re buildin’ a new family, kid. Even if it’s with my bro’s dad and a buncha my classmate’s folks.”

Takemichi chuckled. He was right- they were something of a hodge-podge, but they were  _ his _ hodge-podge, and he loved them all more than anything.

Maybe not anything, he thought, sighing, as he admired the way the light from the window bounced off of Mondo’s cheekbones.

He caught Takemichi’s gaze. “What’s up?”

He sighed heavily and leaned his head against the wall. The ceiling was covered in the strange popcorn texture he had never really liked. He had planned on confessing as soon as he got into the room, but ended up getting too wrapped up in the rush of things. Now, though, he had the opportunity, didn’t he?

“Michi?” Mondo asked, his voice as deep and rough as everything else about him.

Takemichi’s eyes were trained upward, but he closed them anyway for good measure. “I’m in love with you.”

He could feel Mondo tense up beside him. “Uh, I’m…”

He sighed. “Don’t worry about it, you don’t hafta say anything. I know you don’t feel the same.” He knew he loved Kiyotaka, and even if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have returned Takemichi’s feelings, anyway. He had made his peace with that sometime after his 17th viewing of the killing game. “I jus’ needed you to hear it. Didn’t get the chance to tell ya when you were around, and it never sat right with me.”

There was a long stretch of silence where Takemichi was painfully aware of Mondo’s hand still resting on his ankle. Mondo spoke first, surprising him. “Even if he didn’t feel…  _ that _ way toward you, Mondo still cared about you a lot, y’know? He was always upset he never patched things up. He… woulda been happy you told him.

Takemichi opened his eyes to see Mondo’s face adorned with the bright, genuine smile he’d used to see all the time before Daiya died, and did his best to return it. “Thanks. Means a lot to me.”

* * *

The real world smelled like sterile air and clean linens and was far too bright. As soon as the blurriness faded from his vision, Takemichi sat up and rubbed at his head. Taichi was standing near his bed, and he could see Takaaki sitting on the mattress next to him.

“How was it?” Taichi asked nervously.

“It was…” he paused. “Nice.”

“You’re feeling fine, then? No headache? Fatigue?”

“Nah. I’m doin’ pretty great. In fact, hey, if you got a robo-Daiya in there, go ahead and fire that up. I could go for another dead brother chat right now.” He was joking, of course- at the moment, all he wanted to do was get home. It looked like everyone else had already left, anyway.

Taichi nodded. “Being well enough to goof off is a good sign. Try and take it easy, though, alright?”

“We will. Thank you, Mr. Fujisaki.” Takaaki stood up with a great deal of effort and shook Taichi’s hand while Takemichi padded over to the door. The men exchanged a few more words before Takaaki caught up with him.

“How was he?” Takaaki asked.

“Still dead. But I feel better about it now. You?”

He paused. “We’ll have to see, I think,” he said. And Takemichi was more than content to leave it at that.

**Author's Note:**

> HOW ABOUT THAT NEW GLASS ANIMALS SONG HUH...  
> I wouldn't say this is a songfic Per Se because nothing about the plot relates to the song, but I Was listening to it when the idea came to me  
> Please Stream Dreamland  
> Also if you're one of the people who's started liking Takemichi because of my content. thank you so much and I will die for you


End file.
